Research Studies

Peyton has been doing about the same as usual for the past couple weeks.  She is still having issues with maintaining good oxygen levels, so she is spending most of the time on oxygen via nasal canula.  Her heart rate continues to be a little higher than normal as well.  Earlier this week, Peyton completed a two week course of antibiotics. We weren't really sure what was going on, so the pulmonary doctor put her on antibiotics just in case she had something brewing.  It doesn't seem to have done anything at all.  I spoke with the clinic the other day and she is going to start on an oral steroid for about 4-5 days to see if anything changes.  She quite possibly has some inflammation so it may help with that.  We shall see.

In other news, just prior to Christmas, we finally completed all the paperwork that was necessary for the Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research at Boston Children's Hospital.  This is the research center that Peyton has been brought into to see if they can unlock the mystery of her genetic disorder.  We sent in the research consent forms - one for each of the four of us.  A couple weeks ago we spoke with one of the people at the Manton Center regarding the study and what our next step would be.  We are awaiting kits from them which will have everything we need to have blood samples from Ron and I and a saliva sample from Moira sent back to them.  We'll take that to the lab at MUSC here and they can coordinate the delivery of the samples.  Boston Children's Hospital has Peyton's blood already, so hopefully there is enough for them to provide to the Manton Center.

Peyton's Geneticist in Boston is wanting to look at a specific gene based on the research he has done which has him believing her to have an exceedingly rare copper disorder {think in terms of her being one of 5-10 people in the world or quite possibly even more rare than that}.  If it is normal than they will move on to whole exome sequencing.  Right now, through regular testing, Peyton could have whole genome sequencing done to the tune of about $10,000.  When the Geneticist at MUSC mentioned this to us, it was not covered by insurance.  I am not sure if that has changed.  This test is, by far, the most advanced genetics testing available to the public.  Whole exome sequencing is still being done on a research level.  That testing is even more advanced than whole genome sequencing.  So, if she has this test, it will be the most advanced testing known ever.  It will be covered through the research study, so that is good!

This particular research study is on-going.  This means there's no end.  They will continue to work to find answers for us.  It's for patients like Peyton who have exhausted all other options of testing and who still remain undiagnosed.  The study is anonymous, so any labels pointing to Peyton are removed. She becomes a number for research purposes.  However, should they find anything, it will be reported back to her Geneticist in Boston.  Nothing will go into the patient record since it's an anonymous study If there are findings, we would have to go through a clinical lab {as opposed to the research lab} so that the findings could be officially be added to her medical record.  The clinical lab would require new samples for their requirements.

If nothing turns up in whole exome sequencing, then they will keep on researching and testing.

In addition to this, I was given the name of a doctor at the the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.  He had been up at Boston Children's Hospital and our geneticist up there had spoken with him about Peyton.  They are very much on the same page about what they think is going on.  This doctor is apparently a world expert in copper disorders.  While Peyton has a copper disorder of some kind, if you were to google copper disorders, I'm pretty sure I could tell you that none of the ones you will find are what she has.  She doesn't match up it the known copper disorders, yet the copper in her system is virtually non-existent.

This doctor at the NIH is doing clinical trials with copper supplementation.  It was up to us, but our geneticist spoke with me about contacting him to see about getting into that trial. What this means is that if we go this route, there are a lot of tests to have done on Peyton prior to starting any copper supplementation.  We were already planning on having this testing, but for sure it would have to be done before receiving any copper supplementation, regardless of where we would get it from {Bethesda or perhaps eventually Boston}.  We are working with Peyton's neurologist here to coordinate her having a lumbar puncture.  Similar to testing for meningitis, but the requirements for her test are much more strict {I will say that - they require a "pristine" sample.}.  She will also require a skin biospy at some point.  I am not sure if that will be done at MUSC or Boston Children's Hospital.

I have emailed Dr. K in Bethesda about the clinical trials so that I can introduce myself and to find out his thoughts on Peyton's participation in the trial.  I haven't heard back yet, but it's only been a couple days.  If we get in on that, we'll try to coordinate things so that we go to Boston and Bethesda in the same trip.  Apparently the Bethesda trial covers expenses so perhaps that's a separate trip that's covered.  Peyton cannot fly {impossible with all the equipment she requires}, so unless they get her a medical flight and have her stay in a hospital there, I'm pretty sure we'll have to drive.  It's on the way to Boston so it wouldn't be out of the way on a trip up there.

Aside from all of that, I have a new blog design!!  If you're here, then I'm sure you noticed it!  If you can believe it, I did it all by myself!  I'm pretty excited about how it turned out.  I hope you like it too.

Aside from Moira being down with the flu right now, I suppose the only major newsworthy item to report is that Ron's company recently {last week} had a surprise round of layoffs.  It was a tense day when that happened.  While we waited to hear if the cuts were finished on that day, we discussed a back up plan.  It isn't pretty...but it's a plan.  Thankfully, Ron's department was spared cutbacks, so all is well.  It made the news here.  I'm not sure how extensive the coverage went, but if you heard about layoffs at Blackbaud...that's where he works.

I will update you with any further developments on this whole research thing or if anything comes up with Peyton's current health issues!

Moving Forward

I feel like we are picking up a little momentum where Peyton is concerned right now.  I mentioned yesterday that I had spoken with Dr. T. in Genetics in Boston regarding the latest news on that front.  I tackled 3/4 of the paperwork that needs to be done for the Manton Center - that's the research group in Boston.  The other 1/4 is Peyton's portion.  Turns out the rest of our paperwork was fairly straightforward.  Peyton's, of course, needs the more detailed medical history and requires more effort than I can muster up right now.  I have been sick for the past few days.  A trip to urgent care yesterday and a Z Pak should do the trick.  Then I will finally be able to get this done and on its way up to Boston.  The other 3 packets of information are already en route.

This evening I received a call from Peyton's Neurologist {Dr. K.} here in Charleston.  He was calling to discuss Peyton's case with me in light of his recent conversations with Dr. T. in Boston.  I think that's his new best friend now.  If ever I could be a fly on the wall in the middle of a conversation - it would be the one between the two of them.  I think it would be fascinating.

Dr. K. is aware of the possibility for Peyton to become involved in this on-going research study at NIH in Bethesda, MD.  He seems to be on board with this plan.  Dr. T. asked us to consider it and contact the other Dr. K. at NIH regarding the study if we were interested.  Dr. T. could go either way. Dr. K. here at MUSC actually knows Dr. K. at NIH.  He seemed quite interested in this study to see where it might lead for Peyton.  I think we all agree that it falls into the category of "no stone left unturned" or "nothing ventured, nothing gained".

The next step right now is the lumbar puncture that I had previously mentioned.  Dr. K. at MUSC is going to do that.  He wants us to think about it, but really, it is the next step we need to do.  It's necessary for Dr. T. in Boston to have results of a lumbar puncture to help establish a base line prior to any form of copper supplementation.  The LP is probably going to happen around the second week of January.

While I had him on the phone, I asked Dr. K. about increasing Peyton's Neurontin.  She is on this for pain for her hip and shoulder.  The generic name for Neurontin is Gabapentin.  For whatever reason, every time I open the fridge to get a dose or Peyton, I keep calling it Yo Gabba Gabba-pentin.  If you have a small child, you'll possibly find that mildly amusing.  Gotta do something to keep things interesting, right?  I digress.  Dr. K. is on board with an increase in her dose {it's already 3x/day, but the amount given with each dose will increase}.  We've noticed Peyton's pain level in the past week or two seems to be on the rise and we're having to give her Oxycodone between doses of Neurontin.

There is the possibility that Peyton will need a hip x-ray to check the status of her hip dysplasia.  He suggested a possible sonogram as well.  He also suggested that perhaps botox might be considered, but I don't know what my wrinkles have to do with her hip pain! I kid.  Like I said, I have to do something to keep things interesting.  We'll see how the increased meds help and go from there.

That's about it for now.  I was excited to have another phone call from another doctor this week.  Things are moving forward.

A Very Long Overdue Update

I last updated Peyton's CaringBridge page on November 9th!  In this blog construction phase, I have actually gone ahead and put in the most recent couple updates from CaringBridge into this blog so you can easily refer back to those.  As I said in my welcome post, it's going to be a while before this blog is completely populated with the entire contents of that CaringBridge site.

I mentioned last month that things were fairly frustrating with Peyton.  No.  That's probably not the right word.  More like overwhelming and exhausting.  There's been so much happening.  I'm simply exhausted right now.

Peyton has not really returned back to her base line since she was sick and hospitalized back in September.  Forget the 17 day stay in October.  She's just never fully bounced back since September.  She's not lethargic like she was, but she doesn't have a whole lot of pep.  She is increasingly inactive.  Her hip pain is increasing in the past couple weeks.  It's heartbreaking to see her in so much pain and not be able to do something for it.  She's on meds, but they aren't working as well as they need to be.

Peyton has had the worst diaper rash for quite some time now.  It is an angry red at times.  Bleeding a bit at times.  Very painful to look at, so I can't imagine how it must feel to Peyton herself.  Just when we think it's resolving, it flares up again.  I think her skin is just so ultra sensitive to anything that touches her bottom that it's literally tearing her skin up.

At the end of November {the 26th}, Peyton had another "episode" at home where she decided that breathing wasn't absolutely necessary.  She began to turn grey/blue.  She came around fairly quickly {less than a minute}.  We took her to the ER where they did absolutely nothing but eventually send us home.

Peyton had a Cardiology appointment back on December 7th. I have to say that in Peyton's 6.5 year life, this was the very first appointment of hers that I have missed.  I was sick that morning, but she had to go.  Ron took her - all on his own!  Well, with the home nurse, but he did it!  Everything is pretty much status quo in that department.  She will go back in a couple months.  They will do another echocardiogram to see how the mitral regurgitation and heart murmur are doing.  So far, the idea of doing a heart cath is still just an idea.  No plans for one at this time.

A couple weeks ago, Peyton started to get junkier than usual. I was worried as we were heading into that particular weekend that she was about to have to go to the ER.  I contacted the Pulmonary clinic and we were able to start Peyton on a 2 week course of antibiotics to hopefully stave off any major illness.

I mentioned previously that we had a sudden unexpected issue in our home nursing situation.  That was closing in on a month and a half ago.  In a nutshell, we had to fire our home nurse who was doing 40 of the 56 hours a week that Peyton gets.  I won't go into details here but we went through a challenging phase after that.  Scrambling to get nursing coverage.  Not having enough hours to begin with.  That's another blog post in and of itself.  However, God provides.  I wrote about a little Christmas miracle we received over on my personal blog.  You can read that post HERE.  Long story short - we now have 84 hours a week of home nursing care!  I do, however, encourage you to read that post!

During Peyton's last hospital stay {those 17 days in October}, you may recall that I was in constant contact with her Geneticist up at Children's Hospital Boston.  He has been an amazing asset to Peyton's medical team.  He had multiple conversations with Peyton's physicians while she was in the hospital and he has also been in touch with Peyton's Neurologist here at MUSC lately.  In the past month, he has called me himself to discuss various updates.

While we've been going about our business here, the Dr. T. in Boston has been discussing the case with other doctors up there as well as her Neurologist here.  Here is what we know:

* We still have no diagnosis;
* Because of some very specific tests that have been done in the past couple months, we do know that Peyton is severely copper deficient - as in, almost non-existent;
* Peyton's case is exceedingly rare - so rare that she may be "it";
* There is no protocol for treatment because of the rarity of Peyton's condition;
* You don't just "get" copper supplements.  It's not like grabbing some iron pills from the pharmacy;

All of that said, and leaving a whole lot of detail out, in a nutshell, Peyton is likely going to wind up being a research study in and of herself.  We are filling in paperwork to have our family enrolled with The Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research.  Enrolling in this will enable them to place Peyton into a research program.  There is a specific gene that they need to look at.  I won't get into that now.  We all have to be enrolled because they may require samples from the rest of us {including Moira} at some point.  We've sat on this paperwork but I'm working hard to get it finished ASAP.

Dr. T. has been talking with various specialists, including a doctor with NIH {National Institutes of Health} who is apparently one of the world's experts in copper disorders.  This actually came about this week.  Dr. K. is in agreement with Dr. T. in having Peyton tested for this specific gene.  The issues with copper supplementation are namely that it is impossible to come by in the U.S. right now, and we don't know if it is even going to have an effect.  We have to weigh the potential benefits for Peyton with what we are willing to put her through - to what end.  Dr. K. has a research study that is on-going which involves copper deficiencies.  Not what Peyton has specifically - but there is the potential to receive supplements through this program.  Dr. K. is willing to talk with us and we can learn about this program and see if this is something we want to participate in.  If so, it's going to mean a trip to Bethesda, MD.

All that said, Peyton is going to require extensive testing before anything can be done.  She'll definitely be involved in research through Boston.  Whether or not we go to Bethesda has yet to be determined.  Peyton is going to require bloodwork, a lumbar puncture, and a skin biopsy at the very least.  There are specific enzymes that they need to examine.  Copper deficiency can have an effect on multiple organ systems.  We need to find out which ones and how they are being affected before any sort of therapy can begin.  As for therapeutic copper supplementation, Dr. K. feels that it is less likely to have an effect on Peyton given her age - it may be too late for this.  That said, it's something we should still consider. There are just too many unknowns.  Will it work?  What impact will it have on her?  I think there's a whole post just on describing what copper's effect on the body is.  I'll leave that for another time!

Right now we have a lot to consider.  It's looking like a Boston trip will happen in early Spring, perhaps.  There definitely will be one.  The Geneticist {Dr. T.} would like to see her, as will another doctor up there.  If we do participate in the NIH study, there will be a trip to Bethesda.  That would be so easily combined with a road trip to Boston.  The question is will the timing of things required for Boston and Bethesda line up to make that possible.

Please Lord, allow our vehicle to handle the possible multiple trips.  Allow things to line up so that Moira doesn't have to travel with us {which frees up space in our vehicle but, more importantly, frees her from the stress of having to deal with all of the "Peyton" activity that will go on}.  Most importantly, Lord, grant all of these physicians the exact knowledge and wisdom where Peyton is concerned so that they can do the exact right thing for her.  While you're at it, Lord, grant us as her parents the wisdom to know that the decisions we make on Peyton's behalf are exactly the right ones for her.